"Now every engineer that anyone can get their hand on has been asked to go to Bangladesh to do independent checks with Western-style standards."

Mr Russo says Kmart refuses to do business with sweat shops or underage employees.

"We have a zero tolerance for anybody that does anything wrong, not just in Asia but also in Australia," he said. "It's the way not only Kmart but Wesfarmers does its business.

"I take it very seriously that if anyone does anything that breaks local laws - and we do not operate in any factories that don't follow the laws or do not look after their employees, whether it's safety or working conditions or wages."

"The one thing I heard from owners and factory workers - they're very concerned about what's happened with the Rana plaza collapse and the message I got from them loud and clear was 'Please don't leave us. Please don't leave us'," he said.

"Where they've come from is not that pretty. Most of them were unemployed or working on the farms."

Kmart has released a statement saying it is committed to using suppliers in Bangladesh.